Idina Menzel

What is an Eye canthal Tilt? Why is a positive tilt more attractive than a negative tilt?

The eye canthal tilt is the angle between the internal corner of the eyes (medial canthus) and the external corner of the eyes (lateral canthus). This tilt is a crucial section of periorbital aesthetics. The eye canthal tilt can be negative, neutral, or positive. The canthus tilt is considered positive if the medial canthus angle ranges between 5 and 8 degrees below the lateral canthus. A negative canthal tilt is achieved when the medial canthus tilt varies between -5 to -8 degrees beneath the lateral canthus. A neutral tilt is when the medial canthus and lateral canthus are in line. A positive canthal tilt gives one a more attractive, sharper, and younger look.

According to a study held at the University of Toronto by Bashour & Geist (2007), canthal tilt is a power cue for female facial attractiveness. The possible explanation to this phenomenon as per Bashour & Gest is “The fact that palpebral fissure inclination is steeper in children than adults makes it a neonatal feature, and the fact that it is again steeper in females than males after puberty also makes it a sexually dimorphic feature.”

In their publication “The beautiful eye”, medical doctors Volpe & Ramirez from Johns Hopkins Hospital mentions “In women, the intercanthal axis averages +4.1 mm or +4 degrees. This upward tilt of the intercanthal axis is one of the most distinctive qualities of the beautiful eye. When one looks at any truly beautiful face, this upward tilt is found to be present.”

In the book “Cosmetic Patient Evaluation” by Tian Ran Zhu from Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, USA mentions that “The concept of the canthal tilt is critical as it serves as an important indicator of aging. A positive canthal tilt with lower eyelid lightly tilting upward along lateral canthus exudes youth, health, and exuberance. On the contrary, a depressed tilt projects old age, melancholy, and weariness.”

Their findings are widely corroborated by other studies, a positive canthal tilt can make women look “attractive and younger” (Askham et ali, 2019), and “feminized” (Facque et al, 2019). Further to that, the canthal tilt can add a gradually “masculinized appearance” if the tilt depresses with age as the soft tissue descends (Somenek, 2018).

When measuring the canthal tilt, “A positive value designates an upward tilt of the lateral canthus and a negative value a downward tilt. This upward tilt of the intercanthal axis is one of the most distinctive qualities of the beautiful eye” (Volpe & Ramirez, 2005). Bashour & Geist (2007) test this directly in their comprehensive study, they find that a positive canthal tilt adds to the attractiveness of the female face and explain why they think this occurs.  The results revealed that female faces with positive canthal tilt are preferred 93 percent of the time.

Why is a smaller nose width better than a wider one?

The study by Ferruccio Tersello at George Eastman Dental Hospital, “the nose width smaller than 1/4 of facial width” describes the beauty of the face. The study was held on 50 italian models selected for an important beauty contest. According to the report by Nikola Vučinić, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, men with medium width noses appear to be more attractive. It depicts that a man may have appealing face features however wide or big noses might lessen the beauty in general.

Another study by Doug Jones, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan reports that a youthful face is one that combines a high ratio of lower-facial features with a small nose and ears and full lips(Doug Jones, 2011). Additionally, a face with unusually large eyes, a small nose, and full lips as compared to face height will have a low predicted age(Doug Jones, 2011). These studies shed light on how better is “a small nose” than the wider one for overall attractiveness.

The study by Van Zijl, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Erasmus Medical Center, finds that the ideal nose width measures one-fifth of the width of an individual’s face as the alar base. Wider alar base and larger tip lobule can result in the appearance of an unusually and disproportionately larger nose when the anterior view is concerned.

Why a high set eyebrow is more attractive than a low set?

In his famous paper, Cunningham mentioned that the expressive features of highly set eyebrows were associated with female features. To corroborate his finds, two studies mentioned below are finds the high set eyebrows are sexually diamorphic feature.

Packiriswamy et al. in their paper “Anthropometric and Anthroposcopic Analysis of Periorbital Features”, quantified the aesthetic dimensions and position of periorbital features.The study involved 300 male and 300 female subjects with ages ranging from 17 to 25 years.Standardised facial photographs of the subjects were taken in frontal view and the aesthetic dimensions and position of periorbital features including eyebrow height(EH) were measured using Image analyzer. The study demonstrated that interbrow height was significantly greater in females than males(p < 0.005).

In a study carried out by Price et al. “Eyebrow and eyelid dimensions: An anthropometric analysis”, ideal eyebrow and eyelid dimensions were studied among 68 male and female subjects, divided into three age cohorts(20 to 39 years, 40 to 59 years, and 60 to 79 years) and by gender.The subjects were then photographed in the frontal view with brow fixation, first with eyes open in primary gaze, and then with eyes gently closed.The standardised digital images were then analysed using a measuring software.It was found that eyebrow height was significantly larger in women than men(p < 0.001).

The scientists Zhao et al in their study “Data - Driven Research on the Matching Degree of Eyes, Eyebrows and Face Shapes”, go on to explain that although eye to eyebrow distance does serve as a proxy for female attractiveness, it is heavily influenced by overall face shape.Shorter, rounder faces are scored as most attractive when they have high set(or more distal) eyebrows with a higher degree of curvature.Whereas square or longer faces are considered most attractive with exactly the opposite: lower set, flatter eyebrows(Zhao et al, 2019; Baker, 2007). The eye to eyebrow distance and shape can accentuate other attractive facial features, slim the overall facial appearance and alter the perception of eye size but the bi - directionality of this relationship means that the ideal eyebrow placement varies with individual facial aesthetics.

Why a sharper chin is more attractive than a flatter one?

The study, held at the Department of Anthropology, by Zaneta finds that “studies of female attractiveness consistently report that a small or narrow chin is associated with a more feminine appearance”.

The study(Jung et al., 2018) carried out by Ga-Hee Jung et al.at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 220 students were requested to rate facial figures with alterations to the bigonial width and the vertical length of the lower face.It was found that the highest preference score was indicated for the standard figure(golden ratio), whereas facial figures with large bigonial width and chin length had the lowest score.This study demonstrated that in general, the standard image based on the golden ratio was considered as most attractive.Further, a slender face with a sharper chin angle is favoured over a face with larger bigonial width.

This finding is further supported by a study which reported that broad and / or square chin can be aesthetically unappealing(Hirohi, 2021).

Another retrospective study involving 36 patients carried out by Zhang et al (2014) demonstrated that reducing mandibular width G - G distance from 119.9 mm ± 3.9 - 109.7 mm ± 3.5 and creating a sharper chin enhanced the aesthetic beauty significantly.